Scarred Hearts — A Girls' Love Tale - Chapter 23

Beautiful?!

Luo Qinghan’s calm expression almost collapsed on the spot. Beautiful? What kind of cheesy word was that? How could Yan Shuangfei even think of such a thing? It was so embarrassing!

She cleared her throat and forced a composed smile at Yan Shuangfei. Raising her glass, she lightly clinked it against his and took a small sip. Smiling, she asked, “So, what kind of gift is Mr. Yan giving me?”

Yan Shuangfei slowly put down his glass and reached into his jacket pocket without hurrying. His heartbeat with a little excitement. Yan Shaoqiu had chased quite a few women in his day—he couldn’t be wrong, right?

He carefully pulled out a small, delicate box and offered it to Luo Qinghan like a precious treasure.

Yan Shaoqiu had told him that girls loved receiving gifts from someone they cared about, especially at grand events like this.

Yan Shuangfei had never dated anyone before, so he just blindly followed Yan Shaoqiu’s so-called advice.

A crowd had already gathered around them. Many from the smaller families knew the Yan family had nearly wiped out the Luo family in the past, though they didn’t know the full story. So they were curious about what Yan Shuangfei was doing. Some of the bigger families knew a bit more about the complicated relationship between Yan Shuangfei and Luo Qinghan, but even they only knew that he listened to her a lot. And anyone with a sharp eye could tell—right now, the Yan and Luo families were enemies.

Luo Qinghan opened the box and froze. A confused look appeared on her face as she looked up at Yan Shuangfei. “Why are you giving me this?”

Inside the box was a sparkling diamond ring—simple in design but clearly top-quality. The diamond was pure and flawless, with no visible imperfections.

Yan Shuangfei had nearly gone blind picking it out. He wanted to give Luo Qinghan a romantic New Year’s gift.

Yan Shaoqiu had said it—women loved things like diamond rings and jewelry. This gift was guaranteed to win her heart.

Ridiculous.

Luo Qinghan frowned. She couldn’t understand what Yan Shuangfei was thinking. Was this… a proposal? Did this guy even realize what was going on around them? Did he not know the situation they were in?

She couldn’t lash out in public, so she kept her face cold, gently placed the box back in Yan Shuangfei’s hands, and forced a smile. “This gift is too expensive. You should give it to someone else.”

A confused look spread across Yan Shuangfei’s face. Did she not like it?

Luo Qinghan held back her growing anger. She nodded slightly in polite dismissal and turned to leave without another word.

—

“Qinghan, didn’t you like it?” Back at home, Yan Shuangfei cautiously took out the ring and placed it in front of Luo Qinghan. She hadn’t said a word the whole way back, and the chill around her was almost frightening.

Luo Qinghan didn’t even glance at it. She didn’t care how long he had taken to choose it.

“Qinghan?” Yan Shuangfei reached out, trying to hug her, and said playfully, “Just try it on, won’t you?”

Luo Qinghan pushed him away and suddenly stood up. “Do you think that was the right thing to do? Do you even understand the situation we’re in? Everything is already a mess, and you still have no sense of danger? Were you trying to announce our relationship to the world? Do you realize what kind of consequences that could bring? Are you a child?”

Yan Shuangfei was stunned by her outburst. He said blankly, “I just wanted to make you happy…”

“Can you stop giving me headaches?” Luo Qinghan sighed and sat down, clearly annoyed. “Bring me the whip.”

Time passed, but nothing happened. Luo Qinghan looked up and saw Yan Shuangfei still standing there, hesitant.

“Hurry up!” she snapped, getting angry again. Didn’t he realize how serious this was?

Yan Shuangfei still didn’t move. He looked at her with pleading eyes. “It hasn’t healed yet, and… if there’s any action down there, the injury might get worse…”

“Can we skip it just this once?” he said softly.

Luo Qinghan didn’t seem to hear him. She opened a drawer and took out the whip—one that had kissed Yan Shuangfei’s skin countless times before. Without a word, she lashed it across his back, tearing through his shirt and reopening the scars. Thick bl00d began to trickle down.

Yan Shuangfei let out a muffled groan and instinctively turned around, bending over the sofa to expose his back completely.

He bit his lip, feeling wronged and on the verge of tears. It had started out as something happy—so why did it end with him suffering again?

His shirt was torn to shreds, and pieces of it were stuck deep in his wounds. Yan Shuangfei shut his eyes tightly, breathing heavily, waiting for Luo Qinghan to stop.

Later, after changing into a clean shirt, he stood awkwardly, holding the ring in his hand. “So… when will you wear it?”

Luo Qinghan was still furious. Hearing his clueless question only made it worse. She snapped, “I’m not wearing it! I’ll never wear it!”

Yan Shuangfei felt a sharp pain in his chest—worse than his wounds. It hurt so badly he couldn’t breathe. He just wanted to cry. He didn’t understand what he had done wrong. Was it wrong to try and make her happy?

He felt completely defeated. Biting his lip hard, he took the ring back from her and said in a choked voice, “Fine. I won’t ever buy you anything again. Happy now?”

She was mad—really mad. This was the first time she had been angry with Luo Qinghan.

Her red eyes were the first time she had shown such helplessness and vulnerability in front of Luo Qinghan. And it was all over this one thing.

“I have something to take care of. I’ll be gone for a few days,” Yan Shuangfei said after a long silence, breaking the awkwardness.

Where are you going? Luo Qinghan wanted to ask, but she didn’t. The look in his eyes—the despair and exhaustion—frightened her. For the first time, she realized what she had done.

She had hurt him again, hadn’t she? What right did she have to tell him to stay? What right did she have to interfere with his choices? She should be grateful, shouldn’t she? If this had happened in the Yan household, wouldn’t she already be dead by now?

Luo Qinghan was too tired to even change clothes. She collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep.

—

“Why do you smell like bl00d?” Yan Shaoqiu sniffed the air as he started the car. “She didn’t hit you again, did she? Should we delay the plan?”

“I’m fine.” Yan Shuangfei’s face was pale and worrying. “I just fell on the way out.”

“You, fall? Don’t lie to me like that. Do you think I’m an idiot? Who falls and ends up smelling like this much bl00d?”

“Just drive.”

“She treats you like this, and you’re still going out of your way to help her get rid of her problems?”

“Shut up. Drive.”